Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, who has earned a reputation as one of the NFL’s fastest players, will test his speed against some of America’s top sprinters on Sunday with a possible eye on the US Olympic trials.
Metcalf will run in the 100m at the USATF Golden Games and Distance Open in Walnut, California.
The Pro Bowler’s name appeared on the official entry list for the meet on Monday afternoon, when he appeared to confirm his participation with an enigmatic tweet. Others who have entered the race include 2016 Olympian Mike Rodgers and Ronnie Baker, who ranks second in the US this year at 9.94sec.
The 6ft 4in, 229lb wide receiver’s flirtation with USA Track and Field began in October during a nationally televised primetime game against the Bills. As Buffalo safety Budda Baker streaked toward an apparent touchdown after intercepting Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson inside the five-yard line, Metcalf sprinted the length of the field before dragging down Baker short of the goalline.
Metcalf, who ran a 4.33sec 40-yard-dash at the 2019 NFL Combine, clocked a top speed of 22.64mph while covering 114.8 total yards to catch Baker, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats platform.
The next day, USATF sent a playful tweet inviting Metcalf to test himself against “real speed” at the Olympic trials, scheduled for June at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. That same week, Metcalf’s agent dialed USA Track and Field executive Adam Schmenk to inquire about what making the team for the Tokyo Games might entail.
“DK’s agent told us that he really wants to try to make the Olympics and asked what steps he needs to take,” Schmenk told Yahoo Sports. “We walked him through what the auto qualifying time was that he would have to run in a sanctioned USATF event and told him that we would help him find a lane if and when he wanted to do this.”
Metcalf has not competed in a track meet since high school, when he was a hurdler and not a flat sprinter for Mississippi’s Oxford High, though he was a part of 400m and 800m relay teams that set school records. His 4.33sec in the 40 was the fifth-best time at that year’s combine and third among wide receivers.
A time of 10.05sec automatically qualifies for the US trials. A total of 15 American men expected to enter the 100m trials at Eugene have 10.05 right now, according to World Athletics. The field will likely be filled with the next fastest men to 32 entries overall, according to NBC Olympics.